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tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  April 23, 2013 6:00am-8:00am PDT

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the live coverage of the aftermath of the boston bombing continues right now with wolf blitzer in boston. >> christine, thanks very much. step by step, page after page, a how-to of bomb making, a glossy and deadly outreach from al qaeda. the terrorist group in an article entitled "how to make a bomb in your mom's kitchen." was this the man who helped the boston marathon bombers? "newsroom" special coverage of the boston marathon bombings begins right now. good morning to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer rocketing live from boston. several major developments out of boston this morning. let's get you caught up, if you are just catching up on the latest developments back home. but far from back to normal. beginning next hour, police will
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take down the first barricades on boylston street, and allow business owners and residents to slowly but surely return home. we're learning more about the terror plot. who was involved? how did they develop it? and why? and the beginning of the end. police say sodzhokhar tsavraev newly released surveillance photos, after the release of an m.i.t. police officer and before the police shoot-out would leave him wounded and his brother dead. and more new developments this morning as well. we're learning about how tsavraev actually is now accused of acting from one suspect, sock ar tsavraev, speaking indirectly at least with investigators, saying we acted alone. cnn's jake tapper says a u.s.
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government source quotes the sole surviving source saying his brother was the mastermind and no international ties to terror groups and says the men were motivated by radical islam and the jihadist goal of waging a holy war, and that they learned to make their bombs from readily available instructions on the internet. deborah freyerick in new york working her sources what else are we learning? >> investigators beginning paint a much fuller picture of the parents and the life this young man, tamerlan tsavraev was living and the pull between his life here in the united states and his life over in the russian caucuses, where he had been a transient, going from country to country, because of the chechen war. the m.i.t. officer shot to death by the two alleged bombers did not register in to dispatch to
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request a description of the suspects and did not alert dispatch he was actually responding to the two men, who apparently came up to him, totally unaware, he was ambushed in the car. shot four to five times it took police 13 minutes to find that officer. that downed officer. he did not even have time to pull at letter on his radio. and you are looking at now, are pictures of dzhokhar tsavraev. that was when he went to the convenience store. it's interesting this entire manhunt was launched because of these actions of these two men, not particularly in terms of them building a bomb, but because they seemed to have out of nowhere, ambushed this police officer and that set everything in motion that led to the shoot-out, the capture, the carjacking as well. what you see there, is following the carjacking, he went into a bank and he was removing money,
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it appears, according to a source, he removed $800. not clear whether that was money from his account, his brother's account or from the carjacker's account. so all of that right now is under investigation. we have a lot more details that will be coming up throughout the day, wolf, and we'll keep you posted. wolf. >> all right, deb. thank you very much. a massachusetts gas station manager is now speaking out after he was caught in the middle of thursday's carjacking. allegedly by the boston bombing suspects, listen to this. >> after maybe 30 seconds, i call the police, he came here, he went inside in the back area, closed the door, and at this moment, i called the police. but i remember the gun, they want to shoot me. he was screaming and he was nervous, he -- so it is
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difficult for me to tell you. >> powerful words. the gas station manager, by the way, also says he was expecting to die, literally, at any minute. thank god he is okay. a symbolic step in boston's recovery begins at the top of the hour, when one block of boylston street reopens to merchants and residents. more blocks will open by the hour until 3:00 p.m. later this afternoon. here is a look at a map by the way of the affected area, really right in the heart of boston. this part of boylston street, still closed to the general public and vehicles, at least for now. ♪
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the fbi which closed the area as part of its investigation, returned to the city late yesterday in a very, very somber ceremony. flags flown at half staff was presented to the mayor, tom menino. and a hazmat team was cleaning the street last night. could be at least a couple of days before all the shops and restaurants begin the process of reopening business owner not only need to clean up, but also make sure employees are mentally prepared to return to the scene of the tragedy, this will require some major counseling. the terrorists of the boston bombing suspects live in the republic of dagestan in southern russia. nick paton walsh is there. he just spoke with the mother of the two suspects. he joins us from the capital city of dagestan with more. how did the interview with the mother go?
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>> reporter: wolf, very distraught. during the conversation which we had earlier on in the evening, she believed that tamerlan was, in fact, still alive. later it transpired, she saw pictures on social media of his dead body and overcome grief. much in her mind conspiratorial. believing in the innocence of her sons, mistaken identity initially. but now the revelation it was tamerlan and dzhokhar, in her mind, caught up in this -- or at least accused of these crimes by u.s. officials, really struggling to take that on board. she believes dzhokhar, unable to speak, under medical treatment in the hospital, that he has been robbed of his voice, in her words, so he can't properly defend himself. i asked why did this happen to her sons? she said because they are muslims. she herself feels under threat along with her husband.
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not quite clear who she thinks is trying to frame her son of this. she accuses the american government. but certainly struggling with the reality presented by u.s. officials and interestingly saying that she heard from her sons the day before she died, saying i love you and asking about the cats as well. a woman deeply troubled by what she is hearing. and the eldest son saying, in fact, she will be through the sisters of the two boys, be looking for them to be buried today and tomorrow in cambridge, massachusetts, near a mosque there, wolf. >> and i know when you had a chance to speak with the mothers, she suggested earlier on, the sons had been framed. i want you to reiterate this, she has come to the real inflation that her two sons as
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accused by u.s. authorities did, in fact, she believes commit these bombings or still suggesting this is some sort of conspiratorial theory? some sort of conspiracy leveled against her sons because they are muslims? >> she believes in a conspiracy because they are muslims, but she accepts the identi s the id people, that tamerlan is her son. >> what's happened is a terrible thing, but i know that my kids have nothing to do with this. and i know it. i am their mother. i have -- you know, i know my kids. i know my kids. really, my kids would never get involved to anything like that.
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>> reporter: and a different report there, but reiterated exactly the same points to me on the street and at a lengthy phone interview. struggling to come to terms with what u.s. officials are saying and potentially going to the u.s. in the near future to try to get assistance for dzhokhar. talking to officials in russia later on, wolf. >> we'll be checking back with you, nick, throughout the day. investigators are now trying to figure out how these boston suspects turned pressure cookers into weapons of mass destruction. instructions widely available on the internet, including al qaeda's online magazine "inspire," which has step by step instructions. our trerrorism analyst is very familiar with the magazine. what exactly is the similarity between the pressure cooker bomb
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that was apparently used in the boston marathon attack and the recipe, if you will, the instructions for building this kind of pressure cooker bomb in inspire magazine? the al qaeda online magazine? >> wolf ther >> wolf, there are striking similarities between the attack and the online magazine article. right down to how they glued the shrapnel inside the pressure cooker and low-grade explosive powder used and inspire magazine advised western followers in the united states to actually use multiple pressure cookers and explode them in a crowded space. a lot of similarities to the recipe. we're not being told yet by authorities that there is an exact match, wolf. >> this magazine inspire
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magazine, it was cited by u.s. authorities, by other terrorists who engaged in activities here in the united states, and major nadal hasan at ft. hood, texas, supposedly red this magazine before he allegedly went out and accused by the u.s. of killing fellow soldiers and injuring many others. it's a magazine that, correct me if i'm wrong, run by the adam gadahn, former american, who is pretty sophisticated when it comes to these kinds of propaganda devices, is that right? >> the people behind the magazine were anwr awlaki, the american cleric killed in 2011, and sammer khan, an american who moved to yemen. an english speaking magazine. it's been linked to multiple plots on both sides of the atlantic and this recipe, how to
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build a bomb in your mom's kitchen, has been linked to multiple plots on both sides of the atlantic, including two american plots in 2011. a guy named of jason abdeau at ft. hood downloaded it, and a guy named jose pinmental and a group of extremists in the uk also downloaded the recipe. a real track record of this recipe being used. we're not being told that there is an exact match, wolf. >> anwr awlaki, the american born cleric and khan also were killed by u.s. drone strikes. do we know who runs this "inspire" magazine now? i told adam gadahn very much involved, and he is still on the loose. >> are you absolutely right. this magazine features a lot of writing of adam gadahn, but he
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is at the moment believed to be in pakistan and it is believed this is produced in yemen by english speakers, perhaps some americans still part of the group now. we saw new issues come out recently. still putting the magazine together, and it's causing a lot of concern in each issue, they had have a how-too guide in terms of launching attacks in the west and real concern because of that, wolf. >> paul, appreciate it very much. paul is our terrorism analyst. there are a lot of developments happening right now here in boston. coming up next, the wife of the dead boston bombing suspect could provide some serious clues about what her husband was doing just before the attack. and we'll hear what her attorney is now saying about the couple's relationship. ♪
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bombing investigators are
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hoping they can learn more details about tamerlan tsavraev, the dead boston bombing suspect when they speak with his wife, seen this morning with her attorney. our chris lawrence has been talking with that attorney. chris is joining us now from north kingston in rhode island. chris what have you learned? >> wolf, investigators know that katherine russell lived with tamerlan, her husband, that small, cramped cambridge apartment and as they try to piece together when and where he may have assembled those bombs, they want to talk to her about what she may have known. we'll show you that video that was shot just this morning, right here at the house where her attorney came to the house, picked her up, and then they left together with federal agents right behind them. the attorney is saying that so far, he is the one speaking to federal investigators on her behalf. but he says she had no idea what was going on. in fact, we have now learned that katherine russell saw her husband tamerlan on thursday.
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before she went to work, as a home health care aide. she left him at home, watching their young toddler daughter, and didn't realize he was even a suspect until she saw the pictures plastered on the news that night. so, wolf, investigators still looking to talk to katherine russell. any indication when you think the formal q & a process if you will, the questions and abcs might begin? >> reporter: the attorney says basically they are still working that out. he has been taking regular meetings with her. federal agents have been to the house several times over the last past couple of days. he says she is basically devastated, she's horrified by what happened to the victims of the boston bombing, and he said she's also dealing with the fact that she has lost her husband and the father of their young
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daughter. >> her parents, the other day, issued a statement totally disassociating themselves from their now-deceased son-in-law, saying something to the effect he was a monster they never knew. how -- how are her parents dealing with this? >> they are taking it very hard. you know, the dad came out to get the trash last night, and pretty much said no comment. you can see it's taking a heavy toll on the family. you know, katherine glup the suburbs of providence. raised christian, went to college in boston, met tamerlan. she converted to islam, and by all accounts, fairly devout, wore the hajaab, the traditional head scarf. she didn't speak russian, so she
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wasn't always aware what was being said, she didn't understand the language being spoken around the house. wolf. >> chris lawrence reporting for us. just ahead, still many unanswered questions in the boston marathon terror attack. investigators work to interview the only suspect still alive. new insights into the investigation. stay with our special coverage. ♪
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there are hundreds of questions that investigators have for dzhokhar stsavraev. the only communication right now is through pen and paper. one thing they have learn is no foreign entity has helped with last week's terror attack. how confident are federal investigators in what he seems to be saying right now? in other words, do they believe him? >> you know, wolf, whether or not they believe him will have to do with how much of what he
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says they can corroborate. they will look at social media, credit cards statements, banks. talk to all sorts of witnesses, including tamerlan's wife, which you just spoke to chris lawrence about. all of that used to see if the statements he's making are true. i understand that the cooperation between the fbi and the russian authorities is actually quite good. they will look to work with russian colleagues to understand in greater detail and depth, what exactly tamerlan did on the long six-month trip in 2012. >> sfwldzhokhar tsavraev says h brother was the mastermind. how do authorities confirm this, since the older brother is obviously dead? >> one, we ought to understand that dzhokhar's statement, blaming, as we used to say, the
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dead guy, is self-serving, first and foremost. so we'll review with some amount of skepticism on, look -- they will look to see whether or not -- how did dzhokhar behave after tamerlan's death? he didn't immediately surrender. he was involved in a shooting, at the boat before he was captured. dzhokhar did a lot of things after tamerlan was deceased that indicated he was still parcel if you will, in the criminal acts that occurred. it may be tamerlan took a laboring role in the planning of it, dzhokhar has at least by his own actions shown he was very much signed on for the entire program that involved killing four people and injuring hundreds. >> we're also learning that tsavraev is claiming his brother's motivation, the dead brother, comes from jihadist thought, the idea that islam is
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under attack, so how does that fit into this investigation that they were simply supposedly, claiming, trying to protect islam? >> you know, wolf, look, that lends itself to this whole notion that they were self-radicalized. a lot they have access to. the bombing and the ability to get a lot of information from preachers like anwar al awlaki and other extremist preachers. whatever the justification, the eyes of the law and the courts in the united states, none of that will suffice as a defense and we should be clear with viewers, no matter what dzhokhar says now, the fact that he and his brother don't represent muslims and islams around the world, this was -- you know, this was their view and their own justification for really what were horrific acts of
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violence? >> do we know, fran, if the information that the younger tsavraev, the 19-year-old tsavraev has been providing the fbi about his older brother, the motivation, the bomb, the denial of any link to a formal international terrorist group, this information was provided before or after that judge/magistrate was there and r read him his miranda rights? the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney? >> sources have indicated to us that was part of a questioning that they did under the -- fbi agent does under a national security exemption, before he was assigned counsel. they had the ability in the interest of public safety exception to be able to ask questions, were there additional coconspirators, where and were there additional explosives. the source of things you want to
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know immediately in order to protect the public. presumably base wanted on what we are hearing, those are the questions they asked and the kinds of responses prior to the first appearance yesterday. >> that would fit in with the public safety exception in the there a in providing the miranda rights to this criminal defendant as he now is, charges have been read to him. fran, we'll stay in close touch with you, fran townsend. much more from boston in just a moment. other news that we're watching as well. the fbi, back in washington, up on capitol hill, lawmakers are really anxious to know if the agency dropped the ball on one of the boston terror suspects. much more of the special coverage from here in boston, right after this. [ male announcer ] you could be at the corner of "medicare part d"
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welcome back to a special edition of "newsroom," live from boston. i'm wolf blitzer reporting. today, the fbi faces a grilling on capitol hill over the boston bombings, lawmakers want to know if the agency missed vital clues two years ago. that's when agents interviewed the older suspect, tamerlan tsavraev, at the request of the russian government. cnn's national political correspondent jim acosta joins us from washington now with what's going on. a lot of frustration, a lot of what ifs, could if this boston magnificent y massacre been prevented? those are the questions that will be brought forward today. >> that's right, wolf. it will be playing out on capitol hill. the senate intelligence committee has set a hearing for 2:30 this afternoon with fbi officials, they will be the lead briefers at this hearing. i'm told from a source of that
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committee. lawmakers want to find out if federal investigators somehow failed to see big red flags coming from tamerlan tsavraev. as lawmakers are praising authorities for the quick work in the boston bombing case, members of congress are still calling for hearings, into the fbi's handling of dead suspect tamerlan tsavraev, who traveled back to a dangerous region of russia, just last year. >> what did he do, when he went back for six months? sit in his aunt and uncle's home for six months or doing something else? and when he came back to this country, why didn't it ring a bell with the fbi intelligence unit? >> reporter: two years ago, the fbi was asked by the russian government to investigate tamerlan. the russians suspected the 26-year-old ethnic chechen was the follower of radical islam and a strong believer and changed drastically since 2010. as he prepared to leave the u.s. for travel to the countries's region to join unspecified
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underground groups. the fbi said it did not find any terrorism activity. late last year, tamerlan made that trip and spent time in war-torn chechnya. >> translator: yes, he went to chechnya for a couple of days. i don't know where those relatives lived. i mean, the relatives from his father's side. there were bombings in chirit, where they lived. >> reporter: despite the warning from the russians, the trip apparently went undetected by u.s. authorities. lindsay graham said tamerlan's name was on a no-fly watchlist. he slipped through the cracks. >> his name was misspelled and didn't get into the system because of a misspelling. >> reporter: and tamerlan's activity on jihadist websites. >> how did we miss all that? the fbi said they have limgss on
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what they can do. >> reporter: a chechen rebel group denied any bombing, saying the caw occasionian mujahidin are not fighting against the u.s. we are at wash with russia. but some chechen fighters have shown up in iraq, afghanistan, syria. all questions they want answered from tamerlan's younger brother dzhokhar. they say he should be treated temporarily as an enemy combatant. that is ruled out by the white house. >> we will prosecute this terrorist through the civilian system of justice. >> reporter: for its part, the fbi says it interviewed tamerlan back in 2011, that they came up with nothing, then went back to the russians and asked for more information. the fbi says the russians did not get back to them after that request was made. meanwhile, we can tell you that homeland security secretary janet napolitano, she is also appearing at a judiciary committee hearing this morning on immigration reform. happening right now. wolf, given the fact that both
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suspects immigrated to this country in the last decade, expect the case to come up. wolf. >> just to recap the senate intelligence committee will have a separate briefing with the fbi, the house intelligence committee will have their hearing, both will be behind closed doors, no media allowed inside. is that right? >> that's right. and that's typically what happens in these cases, wolf. because there -- there might be sensitive national security details that are divulged during the hearings, they are often closed to the public. however, we'll be staking out during those hearings and trying to find out, what, if anything, being said about whether or not some red flags were missed in the case of tamerlan tsavraev in his trip to russia back in 2011. wolf. >> and everybody agrees, the most important thing right now, to learn lessons from what happened, not necessarily for recriminations or blame, but to make sure it doesn't happen again, so there is progress on
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that front. jim accosta we'll stay in close touch with you as well. and still ahead, enemy combatant or civilian court? prosecutors are making tough legal decisions in the boston bombing case. we're taking a much closer look. so, this board gives me rates for progressive direct and other car insurance companies? yes. but you're progressive, and they're them. yes. but they're here. yes. are you...? there? yes. no. are you them? i'm me. but those rates are for... them. so them are here. yes! you want to run through it again? no, i'm good. you got it? yes.
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the long, legal case against dzhokhar tsavraev has only just begun, and the decision by the obama administration, not to
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designate him as an enemy combatant is upsetting several republicans. >> i have been informed that the obama administration has indicated this suspect in boston will not be treated as enemy combatant. i strongly disagree with the obama administration's decision to rule out enemy combatant status for this suspect at this time. >> let's bring in our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin, joining us from new york. can or should a u.s. citizen be formally given this enemy combatant status? what does the law say? >> every terrorist suspect arrested in the united states, since the first world trade center bombing in 1993 has been treated in the criminal justice system, not as an enemy combatant. standard operating procedure.
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frankly, the whole status of enemy combatant remains ambiguous in the legal system. the prisoners in guantanamo bay remain in legal limbo. by treating them as criminal suspects, the obama administration is avoiding all kinds of risks and simply acting as the bush administration has in the past and as they have acted in other terrorist cases by using the normal criminal procedures. >> because lindsey graham and others say, yes, he should be tried as a u.s. citizen, should be tried in a u.s. civilian court, but that can await this process of doing some serious interrogation of him and designating him as an enemy combatant in the meantime. all of this is moot right now, because as you know, yesterday, he was formally given his miranda rights and a judge magistrate at his bed side with a court-appointed attorney, a public defender.
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this is moot as the obama administration has made its decision. is lindsey graham on sound legal ground, saying he should be tried in a civilian court, but held and questioned as an enemy combatant? >> i think the only fair answer to that question is we don't know. because it's never been done before in american history to have some sort of hybrid combatant and criminal proceeding. we do know from jake tapper's reporting, there was an interrogation of tsavraev. and he did disclose his position that there was no broader conspiracy here. just him and his pressure. it seems like the justice department and the fbi have done the kind of interrogation that at least -- that lindsey graham seems to want to have been done, perhaps not as extensive as it might have been. but there was a premiranda interrogation and authorities can work with that, at least now
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going forward. >> i think that's a fair point. lindsey graham and others will say it wasn't enough. not necessarily just 48 hours of vergation, but days and days if not weeks and weeks. that will be a sung for futubje future debate. just ahead, a check of other stories we're following, including serious delays at major airports across the country with fewer people in control towers. we're in store for a lot of waiting. back in a moment with that and all of the late developments out of boston.
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we're making it. welcome back to on a special "newsroom," live from boston. all on the latest on the investigation in a moment. other top stories making news on this tuesday. the tsa has postponed a controversial rule allowing passengers to bring small knifes on planes. the change due to take effect on thursday. the agency now saying it is getting additional input from an advisory group. another thing that airline passengers might notice, longer flight delays. faa furloughing 10% of workforce because of federal spending cuts and causing delays of up to two hours at airports in los angeles, new york, and
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washington, d.c. our casey wian live with more on what's going on. what's going on, casey? >> reporter: wolf, another rough evening for travelers here at los angeles international airport. up to 80% of departures delayed, and 20% of arrivals, according to flightview.com. due to faa staffing issues, workforce reductions, that started sunday night. erin was on a flight sunday night from las vegas to l.a. little did she know, forced spending cuts began the same day, reducing the number of air traffic controllers on duty. the result? major flight delays. >> on an 8:25, and when i rebooked, our departure time, 1:45 a.m. a couple airline employees said it was due to fog, and a couple says it was due to sequestration. >> reporter: actually it was
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both according to air traffic union rep, who was working sunday night. there are four parallel runways that can operate simultaneously on clear days. >> when the weather comes in, we go to a in, we go to a two runway rate. >> that requires one air traffic controller monitoring each arriving plane. the lax air traffic control tower is operating on delaying. >> reporter: it doesn't create much to create a big backlog. 400 flights were delayed because of staffing shortages sunday night. >> these are awful and they must stop. we cannot let these delays go
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through. not because of convenience, but because it directly hurts our economy. >> reporter: with 10% staff reductio reductions, delays are likely if. >> if it becomes painful, we need to figure out a way to deal with it. >> we're all going to pay the price. what can we do? you grin and bear it. >> reporter: most major airports around the country are operating back to normal this morning. there are some weather related delays at jfk and laguardia. these delays are going to be seen by travelers throughout the country for the rest of the summer and into the fall unless congress does something about it. >> unless congress does something about it, unlikely they will given the mood up there right now.
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apple by the way, is reporting its quarterly earning with very low expectations. dan is joining us now. what exactly is there problem? >> it's been incredibility to see the collapse of apple stock. it hasn't been trading this low since november of 2011. that was right after steve jobs died. we want to explore a couple of reasons why the stock is trading so much lower. when you look at the technology business, it is almost like the movie business. you have to unveil hit after hit. the stock exchange is maturing. most people who have cell phones have smart phones. competition has never been more intense. you look at amazon creating
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great products. we'll be watching the earnings and the guidance. wolf. >> we'll see what happens with apple. coming up, a nike t-shirt with the words boston massacre stayed on sale for days after the bombings. we'll tell you what they're doing about that coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] we don't just certify our pre-owned vehicles. we inspect, analyze and recondition each one, until it's nothing short of a genuine certified pre-owned... mercedes-benz for the next new owner. ♪ hurry in to your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for 1.99% financing during our certified pre-owned sales event through april 30th.
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nike is pulling t-shirts with the words boston massacre from its out let stores. they have nothing to do with the bombings. one week after the tragedy, nike
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is know pulling the shirts. alison, these shirts are about the yank key, red sox rivalry. >> what those shirts refer to is the sweep the red sox had over the yank keys. many are finding them inappropriate and insensitive. they have boston massacre written on them. what nike told us is this is an older item. they took immediate action to remove the product from distribution.
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adee das did boston stands as one. these shirts sold out within a day. they are available again. adee das is telling us it's raises more than one million dollars and it plans to keep raising as much money as possible. >> there's quite a bit of boston marathon gear for sale on e bay right now. is it mostly for charity? >> you look on e bay a good portion of that stuff is going to charity. you see a lot of boston strong t-shirts when you flip around on e bay. you can see a couple of people have tried to trademark that term, boston strong. that is up for sale. there's only one of those upright now. proceeds for that will go to one
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fund boston. there was also a lot of anger you can find on social media saying they're trying to capitalize on these bombings. seeing them sold online is, quote, disgusting. >> alison, thanks very much. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" begins right after a quick break.
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we'll help you get there. carjacked by alleged
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terrorists and abducted at gun point. we'll hear about the terrifying ride through boston and the man who came to the rescue of the driver. >> i remember a gun. they want to shoot me. >> good morning. i'm wolf blitzer reporting live from boston. there have been several major developments coming out of boston this morning. let's get all of you caught upright now. far from back to normal, police are taking down the first barricades on boylston street. residents and business owners can finally return. we're learning more about the terror plot, who was involved? how did they develop it and why? in newly released
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surveillance photos we see dzhokhar tsarnaev just after the murder of an m.i.t. police officer. >> first the headline from the suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev, we acted alone. a u.s. government source quotes the surviving suspect saying the older brother was the master mind and they had no international ties to terror groups. he also says the men were motivated by radical islam and the jihadist goal of waging a holy war. they learned to make their bombs from readily available instructions on the internet. deborah has the latest from new york. >> wolf, we can tell you investigators are painting a much fuller picture of the parents and the life this
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tamerlan tsarnaev was living. his pull here in the united states and his life over in the russian caucasus. what we can tell you this morning is that the m.i.t. officer that was shot to death did not radio into dispatch to request a description of the suspect and he did not alert dispatch he was responding to the two men who apparently came up to him totally unaware. he was shot four to five times according to a source. it took at least nearly 13 minutes to actually find that officer, that downed officer. he did not have time to pull the alert on his radio. what you're looking at now is pictures of dzhokhar tsarnaev. that's when we went to the convenience store. it is interesting because this entire manhunt was launched
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because of the actions of these two men because they were the ones who seemed to out of nowhere ambushed this police officer. that's what set everything in motion that led to the shootout, the capture, the carjacking as well. what you see there is following the carjacking. he went into a bank and was removing a money. it looked as if he was removing $800. it is not clear which account. all of that is under investigation. we have a lot more details coming up throughout the day wolf. >> a massachusetts gas station manager is now speaking out after he was caught in the middle of carjacking by the boston suspect. >> translator: the door opened quickly. i thought it was a drunk man because of how he opened the
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door. i asked him why he would open the door like this. he fell down right there and said please call the police. there are people who want to kill me. there are people who want me dead. they have guns and a bomb. when he was on the ground, i was trying to figure out what i should do. at the same time, i was trying to figure out and remember the two pictures posted online of the two suspects. i grabbed the phone and i made sure i was not panicked. i swear to god i was making the call and i was worried some one may come in a and shoot me. i couldn't even look outside. i was expecting death any minute. thank god i was done with the call. then i went back and handed him the phone and went back to my spot so no one would suspect me of doing anything wrong.
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i wanted to make sure everything looked normal. >> the gas station manager also says he spent time memorizing pictures of the suspects shortly after the bombings. for the first time in eight days, merchants and residents of the boston bomb site area are now being allowed to return. the first block on boylston street is now reopening with other blocks in the coming hours. jason carol is joining us on the phone. the media is not allowed back to the actually site. jason, how close are you? what can you see? >> we're inside the convention center. this is the area where business owners have been asked to come in and check in to make sure identification is in order. as you know, wolf, many of these
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business owners very anxious to get back to their place of businesses to see about any potential damage there. this is the business heart of the city. this area still remains closed to the general public and traffic today. the city is allowing residents to get back into their today. this is after the fbi turned over the scene to the city yesterday. what this city has done, wolf, is they have set up a staggered schedule to reopen the six block area only to business owners and residents starting at 10:00 a.m. the first block to o-- they wan sure the area is safe for reopening. they're working for a bipart
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opening plan. they will do the structural assessment of the businesses there. a counseling area has been set up here inside the convention center for business owners and residents who need it. the transition is starting today. it is starting this hour. one block an hour. >> jason on scene not far from boylston street. other news we're following right now. chemical weapons are being used by syria. that according to israel. the hetd ad of israel forces is saying it is likely syria has
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been using sarin gas. a hearing is taking place this hour in canada for two men accused in a terror plot involving a passenger train. a tip from the local e mam led to the capture yesterday. the passenger train was reportly headed to the united states. what's going on? >> reporter: well, the first hearing is taking place right now in toronto. they have moved the suspect back to montreal this morning. he will be arraigned at 11:00 eastern time. meanwhile, investigators say these two suspects not only had the will, but they had the expertise to pull this off.
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>> reporter: in shackles and under heavy guard, one of the suspects was flown to montreal monday night. the two were plotting an al qaeda supported attack on a passenger train traveling from canada to the united states. >> my understanding this was always under the control of the rcp. >> reporter: authorities say the suspects are not canadian citizens, but they have declined to identify their nationality. canadian authorities have said it was in the planning stages and not imminent. passenger trains have been terrorist targets before. dozens of people died in the london bombing.
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bin laden wanted to atrack trains in the u.s. the suspects received support from al qaeda elements in iran. >> the individuals were receiving support from al qaeda elements located in iran. i can tell you there is no information to indicate these attacks were state sponsored. >> reporter: they issued a statement to the u.n. saying in part al qaeda has no part of doing any activity inside iran. we reject strongly and categorically any connection to this story. authorities here maintain these two were getting support from al qaeda out of iran. >> al qaeda elements in iran as the canadians have been saying.
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thank you. here in boston, life goes on. businesses need to reopen and kids need to get back to school. we're going to learn how one school district is going to make that transition smoother and easier. she knows you like no one else. and you wouldn't have it any other way. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.
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now back to the deadly attacks at the boston marathon. later today the fbi will face some serious questioning up on capitol hill. lawmakers want to know if the agency missed some vital clues two years ago. that's when they interviewed the older suspect tamerlan tsarnaev. these hearings could be significant. update our viewers, jim. >> reporter: that's right. i've been told by a house leadership aide that the full house of representatives will be briefed today. the senate intelligence committee has set a hearing at
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2:30 this afternoon. they're going to find out if they failed to connect the dots. >> reporter: as lawmakers are praising their authorities for their quick work in the boston case, they're still calling for hearings. >> what did he do when we went back for six months? did he sit in his aunt or unc uncle's home for six month? when he came back to this country, why didn't it bring a bell? >> reporter: two years ago the fbi was asked to investigate tamerlan. he prepa-- the fbi said it did
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find any terrorism activity. late last year tamerlan made that trip and spent time in war torn chechnya. >> translator: yes, he went to chechnya for a couple of days. i don't know where those relatives lived. >> reporter: despite that warning from the russians that trip went undetected by u.s. authorities. tamerlan's name was on a no fly watch list. >> i've been informed the air lock passenger list, his name was misspelled. >> reporter: after that graham said, tamerlan's activity on
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jihadist websites. chechen rebel group denied any involvement in the bombing. they're not fighting against the u.s. they're saying we're at war with the russia. some chechen fighters have shown up in iraq, syria, and afghanistan. >> we will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice. >> reporter: the fbi says they interviewed tamerlan tsarnaev two years ago. came up with nothing. went back to the russians. asked for more information. did not hear back from the russians. meanwhile homeland security secretary is appearing at judiciary hearing that is happening right now on immigration reform.
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some senators have already brought up this case in boston and whether or not it should have some impact on immigration reform. that legislation is making it's way through the congress. many impacts from this case unfolding at this point. >> yeah, i expect they're going to be a lot more down the road. meanwhile, life is slowly returning to normal here in the boston area. part of that being the fact that now schools are open once again. roy is the superintendent of the public schools in boston. how are the kids doing? >> they're doing very well. they're aware of what took place. they're calm. they're progressing. >> there was no school last week. you cancelled school all of last week. >> last week was a regular school vacation. >> good it worked out like that.
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they come back on monday and now tuesday. are things back to normal? >> they're calm. they're aware. teachers are handling it well. we have counseling available. counseling is not being used very much because the youngsters are processing very well. >> there's no young kids are very scared. that seems like it would be a normal reaction. >> they felt the sense of community. there were several events in our city and the larger city of boston -- i think they feel safe. >> what do you think? how is boston, not just in your school district, but the whole area doing right now? >> i think we're doing well. i think the leaders put together a plan to make feel protected.
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obviously things happen, we can't prevent every tragedy. the way people responded gave people a lot of comfort. there were vigils and discussions. >> tamerlan tsarnaev the suspect who's now dead, his connection with your school district was? >> he didn't have connection with my school district. he went to cambridge. >> what about the younger one? >> no connection. >> no connection with medford. >> right. >> as you take a look at some of the lessons we should have learned from this, what do you think? >> we can't prevent every injustice and things do happen. we can't stay silent here. we need to speak up and pull ourselves together as a community. one of the most important things we can show people is they
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misdisrupt our routines but they won't change our core values and the way we live. >> well said. thanks very much. so we're watching the schools come back to normal, businesses come back to normal. a lot going on. there are some desperate days in the nation's heart land. we're following other news in the country. we're going to take you to one of the hardest hit areas by floods. hwelcome back.. nice to see you again! hey! i almost didn't recognize you without the suit. well, this is my weekend suit. weekend getaways just got better. well, enjoy your round! alright, thanks! save a ton on our best available rate when you book early and feel the hamptonality.
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we're going to have more coverage coming from in boston. let's turn to a major story. floods are forcing thousands of people out of their homes. it devastated the small town of spring fell. >> reporter: it has just started to rain here in the last hour. there could be another inch of
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rain added on top of what's already flooded. the banks of the illinois river are all the way down those woods. we haven't had reports of widespread z widespread damage. for towns they're getting hit hard. >> reporter: last minute preps for springfield, illinois. >> my home is that gray and white mobile home with the black shutters on it. >> reporter: you can't get to your home by foot now? >> no. >> have you ever seen this much water? >> no. >> reporter: the water has continued to rise. >> yesterday i cried all day. >> reporter: and today? >> i'm not crying yet, but the more i see that water come up the more i'll cry.
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>> reporter: the red cross is assessing the area as the fire chief prepares for the worst. man da tear evacuations in the low lying areas. >> some of these places i can't get to. >> reporter: jared moved here just a few minutes ago. he built this homemade levee. so far it's working. >> there would be three feet of water here if this wasn't there. >> reporter: his neighbor, among those not doing as well. >> it is kind of emotional to see this situation. you know, it's a bad deal. >> reporter: he's worked at this bar since he was a teenager.
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will he reopen? >> no, i don't think. >> reporter: they expect this river here in spring bay will crest later this afternoon. authorities here tell us a week and a half before the water is back inside the banks of the illinois river and they can finish up last left behind. >> thanks very much. let's get back to what's going on here in boston. the bombing suspect makes a court appearance from his hospital bed. we're going to tell you more about what he said, what the judge said at the end of that hearing.
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welcome back to a special edition of news room. we're live here in boston. i'm wolf blitzer reporting. we're following several major developments, including some top stories now. other than what's going on in boston, let me update you on that first. the controversial ban on small knives on small planes won't go into effect on thursday. the tsa wants to get some additional guidance. it is not related to the boston marathon bombings. in steubenville, ohio, the football coach has received a two year renewal on his contract. it is related to his administrative duties and not
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his coaching. they want the coach fired after two of his football players were conflicted of raping a 16-year-old girl. the senate is expected to vote soon on legislation to require state sales tax in online purchases. states are currently prohibited from collecting sales tax from online sellers who are not physically located in that state. we're getting new information coming into to cnn now on the death of that m.i.t. police officer who was shot and killed by the tsarnaev brothers. what are you learning? >> we want to give you some perspective on what happened.
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the officer shawn collier, he did not radio into dispatch to request a diskripgs of the suspects. he did not have time to activate the alert on his radio. we are told he was gunned down between four and five times. it was what amounted to an execution. he was shot in the head and the chest. he was sitting alone in his squad car. it took boston police almost 13 minutes to find the vehicle and realize he was the one who had been injured. they were responding to 911 calls from other people in that vicinity. this officer never had time to alert his fellow colleagues
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where exactly he was. it is unclear where the two brothers ambushed this officer. did they panic? it is not clear. according to a source, they headed away, in the direction of i-93, that's where the carjacking occurred. interestingly, according to the investigators, they believe the tsarnaev brothers circled around back passing what would have been cars responding to the scene. these are some of the details we're learning on the death of this particular officer. after the carjacking, they went to a gas station. the carjacking victim managed to escape somehow. both of them were at different gas stations at that time. the two brothers then went to watertown. don't know why. all that's under investigation. that was the scene on friday of
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a lot of police activity as they were searching for the younger brother dzhokhar tsarnaev. by all accounts, the officer never even saw it coming. >> it is interesting that yesterday when the charges were filed against the younger suspect, dzhokhar tsarnaev, all the federal charges, they did not include murdering this police officer. we do expect massachusetts potentially to file charges in the state, the killing of this police officer. but federal charges, at least right now, did not include that specific charge. what are you hearing about that? >> in the criminal complaint, it is a place holder for what will be a much larger indictment. the one i can compare it to is the u.s. embassy bombing back in 1998. it was tried in 2001 just before
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they attack on the world trade center. but in that you had the murder of six americans. you had injuries of 238 people. this is going to expand out much more significantly. because it is in federal court, the chances are all those charges will be compiled and put into a single indictment and then there will be a superseding indictment. at least this gives investigators a chance to do what they need to do regarding the suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev. >> thanks for the reporting. not since september 11th, has america seen a terror attack on its soil. americans need to avoid making the same mistake this time that was made after 9/11.
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the bombings at the boston marathon are quite difference from the the terror attacks on september 11th. that's the focus of a new column a senior political writer for the daily beast. he writes the big debate post-boston is whether the united states will treat its muslim immigrants more like potential terrorists or more like potential americans. after 9/11, many americans -- now the key question is whether our treatment of muslims will strength democracy in the united states. thanks very much for coming in. after 9/11, you say americans tried to remake the middle east
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and you don't want the u.s. to do the same thing this time. would you say would be another mistake. explain what your thinking is. >> immediately after 9/11, the question became basically, where was america going to invade? remember al qaeda was partly in control of taliban afghanistan. as a result over the next few years the united states spent an enormous amount of time with american lives lost in afghanistan trying to solve the problems by remaking the middle east. i think what we're learning more and more and what we should know by now is the key to american security is at home. the most important thing is that we make our muslim immigrants feel they can be truly
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integrated to the united states. >> how do we do that? >> we have to go much further than we have in terms of stopping the stigma that happens to muslims. look, all immigrants struggle with the question of whether they can be truly accepted not united states. there is a larger drama for all immigrants. it is especially important because there are militants who seek to exploit the sense of al nation. >> do you see a different reaction this time after the boston bombings as opposed to to what happened after 9/11? >> yeah.
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first of all, there's been much less foreign policy discussions. we're not a country that's in the mood to go invade anyone anymore. the tsarnaev brothers have been in the united states much longer. they were really immigrants and the fact that they come from chechnya, a place that's been at war with russia has in some ways softened the response. so far at least, i think we have not seen as much anti-muslim kind of talk as there was after 9/11. >> i think you're absolutely right. there's been some. there's been some of that almost knee jerk reaction, which obviously is a problem, but nothing like what occurred immediately after 9/11. isn't that right? >> yeah. i also think -- there are a billion muslims in the world.
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muslims come in every shape and color. in the american imagination, we have almost racialized what it means to be muslim. the fact these guys are from chechn chechnya under mines the level of racist reactions. to some degree part of what the anti-muslim sentiment after 9/11 was not only based on religion, but it was based on the idea of race and ethnicity. >> thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you. the deceased marathon bombing suspect tamerlan tsarnaev may have reveal ed som of his radical beliefs at a
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local mosque. he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can help make this a great block party. ♪ [ male announcer ] advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function.
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stand by for a moment. let's take a closer look at brian todd's report on islam and these two suspected terrorists. >> reporter: new information on tamerlan tsarnaev's perspective on islam. friday, a mosque leader is giving a service. according to mosque officials it was too much for tamerlan tsarnaev. >> some people said that he said something to the effect you cannot, you know, compare or make a parallel between our prophet and a nonmuslim. some people said that he referred to the person who was giving the sermon as a hypocrite. >> reporter: he says the disruption was a clear violation of mosque etiquette.
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they told him to back off. it was the second time he objected to something said at a sermon. we presspress ed them. were there any red flags? >> i'm sure you can understand how people who are merely acquainted with these individuals, seeing them sporadically at prayers, would not see anything of this nature as well. >> reporter: friends and acquaintances say tamerlan superior knew yef was the leader. dzhokhar was definitely the follower in this situation. in recent months, he saw the brothers come in. sometimes sitting down. sometimes getting chicken and lam for take out.
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tamerlan superitsarnaev always in front of his younger brother. >> he said let's go. we do this. we do this. he was always in the front. anoth >> it may not have always been that way. she says this about the younger brother. >> there was an effort to create some distance between himself and his older brother just because they didn't see the world quite the same. >> reporter: neighbors gave us new information on the brother dynamic. this is where the tsarnaev family lived. the entire family lived here together at one point. one neighbor told us he observed tension in the family when they all lived together.
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it was at that address where m tamerlan was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. he admitted to slapping her. brian todd, cnn. boston. coming up, there's a tribute to the boston victims. he is also remembering other recent tragedies. [ female announcer ] switch to swiffer sweeper, and you'll dump your old broom. swiffer sweeper's electrostatic dry cloths attract and lock dirt, dust, and hair on contact to clean 50% more than a broom. it's a difference you can feel. swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning.
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lawmakers are asking homeland security secretary about the bombing suspect tamerlan's movements over the past years. >> the travel in 2012 that you're referring to, yes. the system pinged when he was leaving the united states. by the time he returned, all investigations had been -- the matter had been closed. >> is it true his identity document did not match his airline ticket?
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and if so, why did the tsa miss the discrepancy? >> there was a mismatch there. the bill will help with this because it requires that passports be electronically readable. it does a good job of getting human error out of the process. even with the misspelling under our current system there are redundancies and so the system did ping when he was leaving the united states. he was not on a watch list. what happened is this student -- he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. he was never a subject. he was never a person of interest. because he was being interviewed, he was at that point put on a watch list. then when it was quickly determined he had nothing to do
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with the bombing, the watch status was removed. >> the terror attack in the boston is a reminder that the u.s. immigration system is directly tied to national security and needs to be reformed. finally this morning boston area residents are still thanks first responders for their efforts after the bombing. fans at last night's red sox game gave a standing ovation to the watertown police officers involved in capturing dzhokhar tsarnaev. the officers stood at the top of the red sox dugout after the fourth inning. neil diamond is working on a song about the boston bombings. he surprised red sox fans showing up on saturday singing sweet caroline. the new song will also deal with other recent tragedies such as
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the newtown school massacre. no date on the release of that new song. thanks very much for joining us. i'll be back 5:00 eastern. the cnn news room with anderson cooper begins right after the break. ily. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! earn a ton of extra hhonors points with the daily grand promotion and feel the hamptonality.
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